Speaker: 00:00:02

This is Vinny.

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This is gonna be really hard

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Life is precious, but it's not forever

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I have a close friend of mine who on

th of: 2026

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I had spoken to him two days earlier

about his plans to come visit here in

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Florida on his trip to go see his brother

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And I was so wrapped up in my own world of

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disconnect that I forgot to call him.

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And we used to talk about once

every month or sooner, and for

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some reason it just slipped by me.

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And I, I really, really feel

so bad that I let that happen

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'Cause we all know that life is short.

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We don't know when our time is up

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And I feel very, very sad, but I

happy too that we had like great,

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great conversations over the years.

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And I'm gonna read what was written

about him, and then I'll, I'll

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elaborate on our, our relationship.

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But I think I take away from this one

thing: you're not guaranteed tomorrow.

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No one is

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And whatever your case is, whatever

your situation is, whatever it is that,

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um, is causing you grief, causing you

issues, family, friends, your loved one,

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whatever it is, it's not that important.

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What's most important is the here and now

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So here's a little bit about Frank.

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He was born on November the 10th in 1939

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And they write here, "Frank Ricci,

a man of unwavering conviction.

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He had a real sharp wit," yep, "and

deep devotion to those he loved.

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He passed away," again, "on

th,: 2026

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home after a battle with cancer.

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He was 86."

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And we, we talked about cancer and, and

when he was going through his battles

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and I was going through mine, and we

would have discussions about, you know,

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what kind of treatment we were getting

and who the doctors were and how he was

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in remission, and he was doing well.

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And, uh

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I think the last time we spoke,

we were talking about him,

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like I said, coming to visit.

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He'd been going back to the

gym, working out, and doing his

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routines, and, uh, that was it.

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So Frank was born on November

th in: 1939

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Frank came to the United States

at the age of 18 with his family.

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They were ready to build a

life here in the US, and he was

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gonna build it on his terms.

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And he made that life in Chicago, where

he served as a police officer with pride

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and grit, and he was known on the for-

known on the force as the Italian Prince.

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Frank carried himself with

presence and authority, equal

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parts discipline and personality.

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Yeah, he exhibited that many

a time when I was around him.

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Frank was not a man who

blended into the background.

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He had strong opinions, spoke his mind

freely, and never softened the truth.

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Boy, he sure could do that.

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Oh, boy, he could do that.

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Ah, I miss it.

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Frank was p- preceded

by death by his father,

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Giuseppe Ricchi, and his

mother, Angelia Ricchi.

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Um-

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Beneath that bold exterior was a man

deeply rooted in love and loyalty.

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He was devoted husband, and he

survived by sharing forty-four years of

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marriage with his beloved wife, Arlene.

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They were med- married in February 20th.

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His commitment to her was steadfast,

enduring, and unquestionable

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Frank was a devoted stepfather

who showed up faithfully, fully

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for the kids that she had.

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He was proud and he, he presented his--

presented himself as a grandfather

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to all of them, even though they

were not his biological children.

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He took great interest in what they

did, their lives, never missing any

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opportunity to stay connected with them.

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And there were times when I was

with him or I'd be on the phone, he

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says, "Well, so-and-so's calling.

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I need to take the call."

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"Yes, go take the call.

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They're important to you."

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The man was just impeccable

about his family.

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He is survived by his brother, Claudio

Ricci and Maria Ricci, which is

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what's his wife's name, his brother's

wife's name, and a cousin, uh, Dr.

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Robert Ricci

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They say here his legacy will continue

through his great-grandchildren.

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Frank loved

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Extension went-- Frank's love

went beyond traditional titles.

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He held a f- title of father-like

bound with Andrew, whom he

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cared for deeply as a son.

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He maintained close and meaningful

connections with all of the other

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children along with their kids.

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He was, he was just a great guy

all around for the entire family

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Frank

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Had a curious and reth- restlessness mind.

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He was always engaged in politics,

world events, and history.

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Never short on perspectives and

never shy about sharing his thoughts.

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Uh, he had a quiet time.

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He could be found at the, uh,

YMCA, going out fishing with his…

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when he was younger.

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And, uh, he just kept a watchful

eye over the people in his lives

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Frank lived without apology.

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He loved hard, spoke plainly,

and stood firmly in who he was.

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He was, uh, every sense unforgettable.

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His presence and his legacy will

echo in the lives of those he knew

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And those that knew him and loved him

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I know that I got off script, but I

was trying to read it and I just…

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So many thoughts were

going through my mind

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Where did I meet Frank?

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30 years ago

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Olive Branch, Mississippi.

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You're gonna think, "Olive

Branch, Mississippi?

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How does a guy from Chicago and a guy

from Florida meet in Olive Branch?"

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Well, we were there because all of us

that were at that meeting were starting

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a brand-new real estate association,

and Frank was one of the ones that

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attended from the Chicago area.

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And, uh, it was called NAEBA, National

Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents,

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and I won't get into a lot of this.

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I'll get into those on my other podcast.

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But he was there to, uh, you

know, help start the organization.

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There was about 250 of us from all

over the country who were independent

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brokers wanting Thursdays and Tuesdays

in office, and we all kinda got together

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and said, "Look, we need to have a, a,

a group, a, um, a place where we can

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all meet, congregate, and share ideas."

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So we did.

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And when it came time to write the

checks, there were a few of us, including

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Frank, who wrote a pretty good-sized

check to get the organization started.

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We knew that we had to have funds

to fund it, and he wrote a check,

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and I struck a check, and we became

founding members of the organization.

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And over the years, you know,

he was participating in real

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estate in, in the Chicago area

and then eventually moved to, uh,

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Tennessee, just outside of Nashville

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A little more about his

real estate adventures.

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He was involved with condominiums in,

in the Chicago area and development

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and all kinds of stuff in, you

know, after his police career.

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Very, very, very, very intelligent man.

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Self-taught in a lot of ways, like my dad.

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Old Italian with the attitudes

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Strength, family, country

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I, I, I, the, the strongest thing, the,

the best thing I can remember is that we

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were putting this organization together

and w-we were having lunch, and we both

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started talking about the leadership

of the organization and, and who we

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thought would be a, a good leader for it.

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And, you know, we had spent

days, you know, talking to

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people excuse me, trying to

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See who in the group would make a strong

leader, kind of a George Washington.

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And, you know, most of the

people there were-- At the time

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I was in my late 30s, early 40s,

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and we wanted someone who

had the strength, the wisdom,

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the care of the organization.

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And Frank and I went to, uh,

Leo Berard from Cape Cod, and

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we said, "Leo, we like you.

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We think you've got the, the, the

right stuff to run this organization."

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So Frank and I kind of sat with him,

talked to him and said, "Look, this

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organization needs you to get started.

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If you don't do this, this thing

is never gonna get off the ground."

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And Frank and I put a little bit of

the, uh, Italian persuasion into him

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And, uh, he became the president.

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That was just the start.

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And, uh, uh, I came back to Florida.

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He was in Chicago still at the time.

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He hadn't moved to Tennessee yet

'cause he was contemplating it.

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And Arlene, his wife, wanted to get

out of the Chicago cold, and, uh, they

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were still there a few more years.

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And then one day he said,

"We're moving to Nashville."

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I go, "Wow.

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Okay."

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So then he moved,

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and, uh, started up his real estate

practice there in, in the, in the

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Nashville area, and then come to

visit me a few times in Clearwater

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And there was a, um, couple of real

estate friends of mine in the market were

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talking to me about network marketing.

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And I said to Frank, I said,

"You do any of this stuff?"

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He goes, "Yeah, Ponzi schemes."

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"Yeah, I've done some of those."

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And we talked about it, and,

uh, I took him to a meeting that

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I was going to that evening.

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My friend Charlie Brenny, who's a,

a broker in the Clearwater area,

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said, "This is not a Ponzi scheme.

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This is legit."

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And I go, "Okay, tell us your story.

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You know, you got me and you

got Frank, and we're both,

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you know, Italian, skeptical

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And, uh, so they made their

pitch, and we bought in.

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It was called Excel.

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It was long distance when

it was getting deregulated.

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So they deregulated long distance,

so now that other people could resell

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long distance for less than you

were paying the telephone company.

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So we both joined Excel and, uh,

started to build a little organization.

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I was helping Frank, you know, recruit

people and sell the product, and that

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was just one little incident that

we got involved with some of that.

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And then over the years, he

would come visit occasionally

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and, uh, we would talk about real estate

and he said, "You know, I need to get

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my real estate license in Florida."

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And I said, "Sure, I can do it."

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So I put together a class so he

can get his broker's license 'cause

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he was already a sales associate.

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No, he was already a broker in Chicago and

in Tennessee, so he could go from sales,

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not have to do the sales, become a broker.

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So I put the cla- class together of

brokers, and we had a special class so he

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can get his broker's license, and he got

his license and, you know, he was involved

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with me early on in some of the ventures

I had gotten into with, with the buyer

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agency, and he firmly believed in it.

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And, uh, kind of, uh, gave me some

guidance on some things that he had done

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past and where he thought the future

was going with it, and approached me

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about maybe joining some forces and

put together a, a team of our own.

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I said, "Let's look into it."

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And we looked into it

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Didn't all come together, but that's fine.

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Uh, the friendship went on and on.

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Uh, we would see each other

a couple times a year.

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He'd come visit Florida and,

you know, we'd, we'd hang

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out and do the stuff together

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And, uh, I'm just trying to think about…

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He couldn't get Arlene to come down.

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She said it was too hot,

too humid, too many bugs.

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I assured her, "It's not that bad.

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It really isn't."

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I said, "Arlene, you can live with it."

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Eh, she wasn't sold on it.

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So he would come down to visit his,

his cousin and his brother, I think

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it was, in, in New Port Richey.

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And, you know, he, he just

kind of liked the area

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So many times, so many things I'd call

him about and talk and like I said,

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he was kinda like a big brother to me

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sounding board.

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I, I, I'd have conversations with him and

he goes, "Well, think, think about this."

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And he would stop and ask questions,

probe, you know, "Okay, what's the good?

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What's the bad?

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What's the outcome?

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Is it gonna hurt you?

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Is it gonna hurt someone else?"

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I felt that he was the

big brother I didn't have

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Uh, I got to use my Italian once in a

while with him, and he'd, he'd laugh.

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I said, "Look, I'm not as

fluent as you were, okay?"

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You know,

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I tried to have conversations with

him, and he would just snicker about it

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What else can I say about Frank?

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Uh, we would talk maybe

every four to six weeks.

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You know, he would give me

a call, I'd give him a call

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I think one of the

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Not the last time I saw him, but maybe

a couple times before that I was living

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in Sarasota, and he came down to visit.

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And, uh, I was doing my travel business at

the time, and he got excited about that.

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He said, "We can do some trips to Italy."

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He says, "Yeah, I got contacts."

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And, you know, we started putting

that together, doing some trips with

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Orofino Tours and some other stuff

that was going on in Italy and tours.

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And I said, "Man, with the contacts

you got, we could have a fun time."

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And he said Arlene would lo- you know.

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It was just stuff that we did.

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Worked on it a little bit and then,

uh, eh, he couldn't get a wife.

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She, she just didn't wanna come to Florida

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So we still did our own things

with real estate, and then we

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just became, uh, phone buddies

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And about seven years ago, I

think it was, no, eight years ago

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maybe, I had, uh, gotten my, um

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New Jeep

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And this was before I got sick

with the, you know, eyesight and

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the cancer and all this other

crap a couple years before that.

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Excuse me.

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I, uh, gave him a call and said, "Look,

I'm headed to New York, and I'm gonna

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come across and I'm gonna come visit you.

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After I go out of New York, I'm

gonna come back over to Tennessee

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and then back to Florida."

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So, you know, I made my trek to

New York to see my Aunt Ada, um,

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who, uh, was the last survivor

of my mom's side of the family.

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Then drove over to Nashville to

spend time with him and Arlene.

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They had a little cottage on the, on

a river there in, uh, in Nashville.

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Man, the bugs were terrible.

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Ate up my ankles.

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Oh, my gosh.

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I said, "What are these things?"

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They were just little gnats.

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So we had, uh…

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I sp- I spent there, you know,

about maybe three, four days, and

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he introduced me to the Nashville

Hot, I think it was called, Chicken.

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He says, "Yeah, we gotta get some."

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I said, "Okay."

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So we go into the restaurant.

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We order, you know, three portions, one

for me, one for Arlene, and one for him.

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Got to the house, opened it up,

and I take a bite and, and I could

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see his face looking at me, and I'm

going, "Holy crap, this is hot."

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He goes, "Yeah, that's why

they call it Nashville Hot."

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I go, "Yeah, now I know."

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He got a chuckle out of

that, and Arlene did too.

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You know, it was just funny.

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Uh, it was, it was just

a funny, a fun evening.

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We just had conversations

about, you know, her life.

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I said, "You know, here you are, Frank,

in Chicago, excuse me, off the boat-"

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And you meet this young lady who's

working at the bank, and you approach her.

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Now, you gotta remember this,

this is back, back in the '70s

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No.

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He's an Italian from Italy, obviously

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She's a Black woman from Chicago,

and he got smitten about her.

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I mean, really, he was telling me the

story and she was telling me the story.

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She goes, "Yeah, he'd come in and

deposit his paychecks and this

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and that, and I got to talking

to him," and they started dating

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And, uh, I don't remember the entire

story about hers, if her husband

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passed away or if she had been

divorced, but she had some kids.

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And, um, I asked him, I said,

"How did the kids react?"

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And they go, "They love me."

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I said, "Well, that's all that counts."

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You know?

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And he, he, he brought them up as his own.

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I know the feeling.

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I was a stepdad

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You do whatever you can to, you

know, make their lives better.

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So when I went to visit him in

Nashville, I was staying at their

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place and she goes, "Oh yeah, Frank

cooks the dinners, and he takes care

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of lunch and all this other stuff."

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And, and, uh, just a sweet, sweet woman.

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Love her to death.

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I've tried calling.

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His number obviously

has been disconnected.

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I'm gonna do a little work.

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I'm gonna see if I can find Arlene.

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I wanna talk to her and

just, just talk to her.

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But whenever I would call,

she'd be in the background and

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: 00:20:16

say, "Tell Vinnie I love him."

312

: 00:20:17

I'd go, "Arlene, I love you, too

313

: 00:20:24

So I spent some time up there with him

314

: 00:20:28

And, uh

315

: 00:20:32

We, you know, we, we, we would

talk on a regular basis and, and

316

: 00:20:36

then about five, six years ago

when my cancer hit, his cancer hit

317

: 00:20:44

And, uh, we would talk about

the treatments we were getting

318

: 00:20:48

and the doctors we were going to

and, you know, just, just stuff.

319

: 00:20:53

Nothing, nothing heavy, just

talking about life in general

320

: 00:20:59

And he would ask how my life was

going and, you know, who was involved

321

: 00:21:03

in my life, and I would tell him and

322

: 00:21:08

He would always wonder, "Oh, one of

these days you'll get it right, kid."

323

: 00:21:12

I go, "Yeah, maybe one of

these days I'll get it right."

324

: 00:21:18

It, it's

325

: 00:21:22

This was such a shock this week.

326

: 00:21:25

I don't know why it took me this…

327

: 00:21:26

I, I know why it took me this long.

328

: 00:21:28

I was so distracted and so

self-absorbed in myself and my woes

329

: 00:21:35

that I forgot there's other people

in your, your world, your circle.

330

: 00:21:40

And that is one of the things I

wanna press here, talk about here.

331

: 00:21:47

You may have people in your circle

that maybe you don't agree with or, or

332

: 00:21:54

standoffish or whatever they may be.

333

: 00:21:58

And I'm guilty of it too.

334

: 00:22:00

Uh, I don't, uh, I don't, uh, reach

out to everyone like I should.

335

: 00:22:08

And there are people who I hadn't

reached, reached out to in years and

336

: 00:22:11

have reconnected, and I'm happy for it.

337

: 00:22:13

So now I need to really readdress

the people who I haven't connected

338

: 00:22:18

with in a long time that were there

339

: 00:22:23

I think the, the, the, the point of

all this is, again, life is short.

340

: 00:22:28

We have no guarantee of tomorrow.

341

: 00:22:30

We have just what we have right now.

342

: 00:22:33

I could finish this recording

and maybe never get it broadcast,

343

: 00:22:38

never get it uploaded, or I get

it uploaded and I pass away.

344

: 00:22:42

There, there's, there's

absolutely no guarantee of

345

: 00:22:45

what's gonna happen right now.

346

: 00:22:48

I mean, that's it.

347

: 00:22:49

And I think this woke me up,

348

: 00:22:54

really woke me up to

where I am in my life.

349

: 00:22:58

Where are you in your life?

350

: 00:23:00

Where are the people in your life?

351

: 00:23:03

Where are the people that

you've had odds with?

352

: 00:23:07

Where are the people that, you know,

say you're your friends, but really

353

: 00:23:12

they're not, they're just, um…

354

: 00:23:17

I shouldn't say they're not

friends, they're just acquaintances.

355

: 00:23:20

They're not really true friends

356

: 00:23:25

You'll know who your true friends are

357

: 00:23:29

The song you're hearing in the

background is "O Sole Mio."

358

: 00:23:32

My, uh, Uncle Mike used to play

it all the time whenever we'd

359

: 00:23:36

go to his house on the stereo.

360

: 00:23:39

Pavarotti would be singing it

361

: 00:23:43

So I thought it was ap- thought

it happened in the background.

362

: 00:23:47

I used to play this as a kid, the

song "O Sole Mio" on the accordion

363

: 00:23:56

I want to apologize for the coughing.

364

: 00:23:57

It's just, I don't know

why it's been like this.

365

: 00:24:01

I think it's just stress or

anxiousness whenever I get behind

366

: 00:24:06

the mic lately that I'm about to

talk about something that's extremely

367

: 00:24:13

Uh.

368

: 00:24:17

Something that just makes me stop

and think about a lot of things

369

: 00:24:24

I think what I wanna leave us

with is that my friend Frank

370

: 00:24:30

His beautiful wife, Arlene

371

: 00:24:34

He may be gone, but I think

he's watching out for me

372

: 00:24:41

And I hope he's watching out for

his wife, which I think he will

373

: 00:24:43

be, and everyone that was in

his circle of friends and family

374

: 00:24:53

They say you're not guaranteed

tomorrow, just today

375

: 00:25:03

I had a reason for doing this, and the

reason not ended up the way I thought

376

: 00:25:07

it was gonna be until I started talking

377

: 00:25:12

I don't script these things out.

378

: 00:25:13

I just, whatever's in my heart,

my head, my soul, it comes out

379

: 00:25:25

I, I, um

380

: 00:25:33

I, I want to say that if there's

someone in your life that

381

: 00:25:42

has not been someone you've been

contacting or talking to in a

382

: 00:25:47

while, and I'm guilty of it too.

383

: 00:25:50

We all are.

384

: 00:25:51

Maybe it's time to reach out

and say, "Hey, how you doing?

385

: 00:25:54

What's going on?

386

: 00:25:55

Anything I can do?"

387

: 00:25:58

And it's gonna be hard 'cause for me

388

: 00:26:02

I, I'm not that easy to do that.

389

: 00:26:05

It's gonna take baby steps to reconnect.

390

: 00:26:11

Um

391

: 00:26:17

I, I started working with my cousins

that I could still find here in the

392

: 00:26:23

country, in, in the United States, and

the ones in Europe, a little bit tougher

393

: 00:26:31

But my goal is that by the time

394

: 00:26:38

See, I don't know when the t-t-time, time.

395

: 00:26:41

I may not have any more time.

396

: 00:26:43

None of us know how much more time

we have, and that's the point.

397

: 00:26:48

You can think you've got time to

do things or straighten things

398

: 00:26:51

out or work things out, or it'll,

it'll straighten itself out.

399

: 00:26:55

It doesn't.

400

: 00:26:56

You don't have the time.

401

: 00:26:58

I could walk out to the

mailbox and get run over

402

: 00:27:02

I could be going to the grocery

store and, and get s- T-boned

403

: 00:27:06

some, some, some stranger.

404

: 00:27:08

I mean, we don't know

405

: 00:27:13

And I don't wanna sound morbid,

and I don't wanna sound, oh

406

: 00:27:21

Trying to scare people?

407

: 00:27:32

I want, I wanna leave with the, the,

the thought, the presence of I will

408

: 00:27:42

make a concerted effort to reach out to

people I haven't spoken to in a while

409

: 00:27:50

and just say, "Hey, how you doing?"

410

: 00:27:52

You know, we don't have to get into

a long dissertation about the past.

411

: 00:27:57

That was yesterday.

412

: 00:27:59

That was yesterday.

413

: 00:28:00

It is gone.

414

: 00:28:01

We can't do a thing about

what happened yesterday.

415

: 00:28:06

It's, it's just a fact

416

: 00:28:10

And I'm not gonna say, "Well,

I'll see you tomorrow."

417

: 00:28:12

Well, there may not be that tomorrow

418

: 00:28:17

When I spoke to Frank on, on that two

days before his, you know, death, you

419

: 00:28:22

know, he's making plans to come visit.

420

: 00:28:24

I'm making plans for him to come

visit, and it never happened.

421

: 00:28:29

So yesterday is gone.

422

: 00:28:31

Tomorrow is not a guarantee.

423

: 00:28:34

It's right now, the here and now

424

: 00:28:39

So I'm gonna make a point of it to

reach out to some people who have

425

: 00:28:45

hurt me, and probably hurt them too.

426

: 00:28:47

I probably have hurt them too,

and just say, "I'm sorry."

427

: 00:28:53

That's all.

428

: 00:28:54

"I'm sorry.

429

: 00:28:57

If you wanna be in my

life, you're welcome.

430

: 00:28:59

If you don't wanna be in my life,

that's your choice, not mine,

431

: 00:29:03

but you're available in mine

432

: 00:29:08

That's the only way to heal because if

you carry this to your death, I think

433

: 00:29:13

you're gonna feel like you regretted it

434

: 00:29:21

I wasn't expecting to go this way

435

: 00:29:24

I had a little bit of an idea of

what I wanted to talk about and

436

: 00:29:27

how I wanted to talk about things.

437

: 00:29:30

But as you sit here and I'm hearing myself

speak, I said this would be hypocritical

438

: 00:29:37

if I didn't do what I'm about to say.

439

: 00:29:39

Like I said this.

440

: 00:29:41

So I'm gonna take a, make a concerted

effort over the next few days.

441

: 00:29:45

I'm not gonna take a month.

442

: 00:29:46

Next few days, reach out,

say, "Hey, how you doing?

443

: 00:29:49

What's going on?"

444

: 00:29:51

Just open up the door.

445

: 00:29:53

If they don't let me in, I know I tried.

446

: 00:29:57

I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it, but

I don't think I wanna spend another day

447

: 00:30:05

Knowing that I didn't, um, reach out.

448

: 00:30:13

Things have happened in the

last four months in my life in

449

: 00:30:17

addition to all the health issues.

450

: 00:30:20

Wow.

451

: 00:30:22

You know, and you can go listen to them.

452

: 00:30:24

I recorded them, and it was overwhelming.

453

: 00:30:26

So now I'm in a different phase of my life

454

: 00:30:30

I know that Frank would be happy

455

: 00:30:34

And I, um, I apologize

for getting off tangent.

456

: 00:30:37

This was supposed to be more about

Frank, but part of Frank woke me up.

457

: 00:30:42

It absolutely woke me up that

458

: 00:30:48

Yeah

459

: 00:30:51

He had an impact on me

460

: 00:30:57

Everyone has a Frank in their life.

461

: 00:31:00

Call them.

462

: 00:31:01

Go visit them.

463

: 00:31:03

You know, whatever you

have to do, go do it.

464

: 00:31:07

I'm gonna make the concerted effort to

be the person that opens up the door.

465

: 00:31:11

If you close it, that's your choice.

466

: 00:31:15

But I'm gonna open the

door and step inside.

467

: 00:31:18

If you ask me to leave,

I'll be happy to leave

468

: 00:31:23

We all have, like I said, people in our

families, friends that are like that

469

: 00:31:33

And after

470

: 00:31:38

After this whole

471

: 00:31:41

Time to reflect

472

: 00:31:44

Of Frank's death, my life has

totally and completely been given

473

: 00:31:52

to a power that's more powerful than me